Peptides in Athletic Performance and Recovery

Amino acids, the molecules in the body that make up proteins, play an essential role in producing hormones and brain chemicals, providing energy, building muscles, breaking down food, supporting your immune system, and supporting normal digestion. They’re also the building blocks of peptides, which help with a variety of bodily functions.

Peptides have become part of medical treatments and can be useful for treating inflammation and promoting muscle growth. To explore how peptides help, let’s learn more about how this chemical works in the body, how it’s used in treatment, and what results to expect.

Residents of Fort Worth, Texas, looking for ways to stay in shape for athletic activities and heal quickly from injuries can find help with Dr. Joseph Daniels and the experienced staff at Southwest Orthopedic Associates.

What are the facts about peptides?

In the body, peptides help in many ways, but how they help varies depending on what part of the body they come from:

Hypothalamus

In the form of vasopressin, peptide hormones help regulate water levels by instructing the kidneys to retain water, thereby controlling extracellular fluid (the fluid space around cells). 

Pituitary gland

Oxytocin is composed of nine amino acids, causes the uterus to contract during childbirth, and plays a crucial role in the milk ejection reflex during breastfeeding.

Immune system

Defensins, peptides found in your immune system, help with wound healing, possibly through their antimicrobial properties.

Renin-angiotensin system

This hormone system helps regulate blood pressure; angiotensins are produced there to help with that and to instruct the adrenal cortex to release a hormone that helps the kidneys retain sodium.

What are common peptides used in athletics?

Since helping the body heal is already mentioned among the possible uses of peptides, synthetic forms of the substance are also commonly used in this process. According to research, GHRP-2, GHRP-6, and ipamorelin help stimulate growth hormone secretion, but there’s limited evidence of significant muscle growth. 

Other synthetic hormones, such as BPC-157 and TB-500, help with tendon repair and wound healing. These two groups of peptides have some medical merit, but the market is flooded with other products that claim to offer similar results without evidence to back them up, so be careful (especially if they’re not FDA-approved).

What about application and effectiveness?

These peptides are often injected, and it’s not uncommon to conflate their use with the use of things like anabolic steroids and human growth hormone to build muscle and enhance performance. Peptides do not build muscle in the same fashion as the other drugs they’re confused with.

Synthetic peptides are designed to mimic existing functions in the body and are limited to healing and supporting muscle growth, with continued research into long-term results. 

For best results with peptides, avoid online promises of muscle growth, as these products are often unregulated and can be dangerous. Make an appointment with Dr. Daniels and the team at Southwest Orthopedic Associates today to find out how peptides can improve your musculoskeletal health.